Hero in the Strife Part 4
by solojones
Summary: John Carter graduates high school to head off to college- and all the new experiences that come with it. CHAPTER 3 NOW UP! Story to be completed by summer's end (including part 5!)
1. Chapter 1

Title: Hero in the Strife- Part 4  
  
Author: Noerf  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Description: Carter graduates from High School to head to college, and all the new experiences that come with it.  
  
Disclaimer: It may seem, at times, that I SHOULD own ER, but alas, this is not yet true ;) It belongs to Crichton, WB, NBC, etc.  
  
Archive: Please do! You don't have to ask, but tell me sometime when you get around to it so that I know where my story is at.  
  
Thanks: To all my friends who have helped and encouraged me in my writing. To my family. Most of all, to Jesus Christ my savior.  
  
**************************************************************************** *  
  
  
  
The crowded gym was beginning to become stuffy. Students, faculty, and family were all packed into the room, each bringing their own body heat. The building was actually well cooled, but to John Carter, it was stifling.  
  
He could have sworn the sweat was dripping off the ends of his black graduation gown. Bead of sweat already dripped down his face from under his cap. He glanced around, and saw calm students all around him. Of course they're calm, he thought enviously, they don't have to give a speech. Suddenly, everyone began to clap. The principle had finished his speech, and everyone was looking at John.  
  
"Scooter," Chase, who was seated next to John, whispered. "You're up."  
  
John slowly rose to head toward the step. His feet felt as though they were filled with lead as he made his way toward the stage. When he finally reached the podium, his hands were trembling. He set his speech notes on the podium, and looked up at the audience. Thousands of keen faces were turned toward him. Swallowing, he prepared himself to deliver the speech for the class.  
  
"The acclaimed scientist and mathematician Albert Einstein had a sign hanging in his office at Princeton University. It read, "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." Today, this maxim rings true for many of us, as we look back on our high school years. Many of us had successes, and failures, which we have come to realize may not count as much in the real world as we thought. As we step into the next stage of our lives, it's important for each of us to know what really counts.  
  
Success is certainly counts sometimes, but not in all cases. Some people are on the football team, and the most popular guys in school, and end up miserable and alone. They're popularity alone is not enough to really make them happy people. Some people are the smartest people in the class, and end up as wasted drug addicts. They were able to count, to calculate the complicated problems in calculus, but these achievements alone aren't what counts. Perhaps this is because these people place their value in the view of others, and measure their successes by others. But I believe that real success is measured by how much that accomplishment means to you, and how much you have learned along the way to reaching your goals.  
  
Likewise, failures and shortcomings in high school may not affect you in the real world as much as you believe. If you never did well in math, you can still end up a content and productive individual. That girl or boy who broke up with you cannot prevent you from ever having a happy family. You may never see the people who put you down again. Their opinions of you do not count as much as your opinion of yourself. As with successes, failures only affect you as much as you allow them to.  
  
My point is not that your decisions in high school will not affect the rest of your life. Most likely, they will. But your status, intelligence, relationships, and everything else that goes along with high school, is not what counts the most. At the end of the day, you can't tally up all of your so called achievements and disappointments and have what really counts. As Einstein's motto says, the true things that count can't be counted or measured. The true measure of yourself is found within yourself, and that is where your success in the future will come from."  
  
John finished his speech, and there was a pause. He wondered for a moment if he had done horribly. Then, the crowd began to applaud and he breathed a sigh of relief. He headed back to his chair with his classmates. He knew it wasn't the best speech ever, but it had been from his heart. Besides, it had taken a lot of nerve for someone as shy as him to get up in front of all those distinguished people and give a speech.  
  
Chase slapped him on the back as he took his seat. "Good job, Scooter! You didn't faint after all!" he congratulated with a grin.  
  
"Thanks," John said, returning the smile.  
  
The administrative staff then got up and began to call the names of all the students. One by one, they walked across the stage in alphabetical order as Pomp and Circumstance played grandly. They were leaving row by row, and it would soon be time for John's row to go up. He was not as nervous now that he had given his speech. Now he was ready to get his diploma and finally get this stage of his life behind him.  
  
A teacher motioned for John's row to stand, and they all did, walking toward the stage in their line. Some kids pushed each other playfully, still the same immature individuals they had always been. Some kids looked utterly bored. Still others talked excitedly with their friends. As the line moved on, John remained silent.  
  
"Rachel Diane Calhoun," the principle read off. The girl walked across the stage and accepted her diploma. "Amy Denise Cameron." And the next went. "Charles Gregory Carter," he read, and Chase gave John a wink, then trotted up the steps and walked across the stage. Still being the unabashed show- off, he took his diploma and waved to the crowd with it.  
  
"Jonathan Truman Carter, III," the principle announced. John walked slowly up the steps and onto the stage. The principle smiled at him politely and offered his congratulations. With the diploma in his hand, he breathed a sigh of relief. He also found himself glowing with happiness and pride. John turned his attention to the crowd, and scanned for the area in which his family's seating was.  
  
Millicent and Jonathan Sr. were beaming with pride as well, sending him encouraging glances. Seated next to them was Nell, whom John had not seen in over a year. She had grown to be a competent, witty, and elegant young woman. She had also effectively exiled herself from the Carter family and all its rituals but had gladly returned for John's graduation. She was also smiling and proud of her little brother.  
  
John glanced at the seats next to her, the two reserved for his parents, and saw they were empty.  
  
*****  
  
"John!" Nell exclaimed exuberantly as she saw her brother approach. He looked a little gloomy, but then he smiled and hugged her. She stepped back, and shook her head. "I can barely believe it's you. You're so tall."  
  
John laughed mischievously, "I think it's just because you're so short," he said. That earned him a playful punch on the arm.  
  
"Johnny," Gamma said affectionately as she and Jonathan approached the siblings. "Let me take a picture of you!"  
  
Normally John would have objected strongly, but he knew how important this day was to Gamma, and how proud she was; though he didn't feel as if he'd accomplished anything important. Biting back his comments, John put an arm around his sister and smiled. After the picture was taken, they relaxed.  
  
"All right, dear," Jonathan said, taking his wife by the arm. "Let's take the first car and let John and Nell go in the second one. They probably have a lot of fighting to catch up on." He winked charmingly at his grandkids.  
  
"I'm going," Gamma replied, and followed him toward the first of the three limousines sent to pick up the Carter family.  
  
Chase came down the steps toward John and Nell, sandwiched between his proud parents. He looked humorously agitated as his parents both gabbed and led him into the third limousine. John waved to him mockingly, and was met with a glare.  
  
Nell laughed. "Poor Chase," she said. "At least he'll be free of them, too. As will you." She looked intently at John.  
  
Opening the door, John motioned for her to get in, then he followed her. They settled in just as the driver started to go.  
  
Nell looked around curiously, and flicked the ceiling lights on and off. She ran a hand across the dark brown leather seats and shook her head. "So much luxury on the surface," she mused. "And penury within." She looked at John, who was silent. "I'm pretty proud of you, Scrub. Not just because you've graduated, but because you're finally getting out of here."  
  
"Yeah," John said slowly.  
  
"You are, aren't you?" Nell asked. "I mean, you're not going to let them run your life from afar from forever."  
  
"It's not them," John contested. "Gamma and Grandfather have always been very loving and it would be wrong to abandon them completely." He wanted to bite back his word as soon as they were out.  
  
Nell let out an annoyed sigh. "So you think I've abandoned them? I call them all the time. I love them both. But I can't be around here and let Mom and Dad run my life and leave it in ruins."  
  
"I didn't mean that," John said softly. "I admire what you've done, I really do. You've been doing great on your own. Better than great. You have a job and friends and you're happy." He paused. "But I need them as much as they need me. I have to have some way to get into college and into med. school. I know I don't need to ride on their coattails, but I at least need a hand."  
  
"You could get a full scholarship on your own," Nell said.  
  
John laughed sourly. "It hasn't happened yet, and it's not going to." He turned his attention out the window. "I just have to stick with it a little longer, that's all."  
  
"Eight years," Nell corrected. "It's a long time." There was a long silence. "Look, at least go someplace that's a long ways away. I mean that way, when Mom and Dad are even in the country, you won't have to deal with them."  
  
"They won't pay for that," John said quietly. He turned back to Nell, and smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."  
  
Nell was quiet for a few moments, while she sat, contemplating. "I just want the best for you."  
  
"I know you do," John said. "But sometimes you just have to play by the rules."  
  
The limousine pulled into the circular driveway in front of the Carter mansion. There were already hundreds of people at the house for John and Chase's graduation party.  
  
John opened the door and got out, offering a hand to Nell. "Come on," he said to her, "Let's go torture ourselves with hours of bleak conversation with near strangers."  
  
Nell laughed. "Yeah, it'll be like old times." 


	2. Chapter 2

John had spent the last half hour smiling and nodding as people he barely knew (and some who were complete strangers) congratulated him. He made sure that Nell stuck close by the whole time, and she found the whole ordeal rather amusing. He was getting ready to politely excuse himself to somewhere he could hide for the duration of the event, when he heard the prim and piercing voice of his mother.  
  
He winced, and threw a sidelong look at Nell. She looked angry already. But John put on a fake smile and turned around. "Hello mother," he said. Jack was standing silently next to her. "Hello Dad," he added.  
  
"Hi," Jack replied with a smile. "We're so sorry we couldn't be here for the ceremony, son. There was some bad weather over the Caribbean." John said nothing. Jack turned his attention to Nell. "My goodness it's been a while since I've seen you, Nell. Give your old man a hug."  
  
Nell couldn't help but genuinely smile at her father, who had always tried his hardest to be kind, behind his meek persona. "It's good to see you, too, Dad," she said as she hugged him.  
  
Eleanor Carter looked briefly and tersely at her daughter, but said nothing. She focused her attentions instead on her son. "John," she said with a smile that was too kind. He braced himself for whatever it was she was going to ask, or demand, next. "Millicent tells me you've decided to go to college here in the city. I think that's wonderful."  
  
"Yeah," he said shortly, suspicious. "And?"  
  
"And what? I can't just comment that I think it's nice that you'll be staying here?" she said in a melodramatic hurt tone.  
  
"Well here in Chicago."  
  
"Well if you're going to be in the city you might as well stay here at the house, too."  
  
Nell shot John a warning glance. He nodded slightly at her, then turned his eyes to his mother. "Well actually I was going to stay at the college."  
  
Eleanor's eyes widened in horror. "In a dorm?"  
  
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" John said a little more forcefully than he'd planned. Nell smiled with pride.  
  
"Well, I," Eleanor seemed at a loss for words. "I just thought that your grandparents might be lonely here in the house all alone."  
  
"They have Elliot," John said in an overly bright tone. "And Alger, and the rest of the staff."  
  
"There's no need to be snippy," Eleanor scolded.  
  
Jack spoke up, "Eleanor, I think that John is 18 years old and he should be able to decide for himself where he wants to live." That brought on a sharp look from his wife. "Well, I mean, he can always change his mind and come back here if he wants," he amended.  
  
Eleanor was fuming, but managed to contain herself from an outburst. "Well," she said shortly, "I'm sure it will be an eye opening experience for you, John." With that she turned and walked toward a crowd. Jack shrugged apologetically and turned to follow her.  
  
Nell patted her younger brother on the shoulder. "Well Scrub, I'm proud of you," she said.  
  
"I learned it from the best of them," he replied with a smirk.  
  
"Yeah, my little brother's growing up to be a rebel just like me," Nell joked. She grabbed two glasses off a tray that a caterer was carrying as he went by, and handed one to John. He stared at it with a slack jaw. "Don't look so shocked, Scrub. If you're going to be a rebel you've got to break the rules some more."  
  
John stared at his glass of champagne for a moment, then he relaxed and smiled at Nell. "Well, here's to college life."  
  
The two siblings raised their glasses in a toast. Nell smiled and said, "Cheers."  
  
John immediately began to sputter and cough. "Geez," he screeched. "That tastes terrible! People actually drink this stuff?"  
  
Nell laughed at him. "Good luck in college!"  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
3 months later.  
  
John tried to keep a positive attitude as he made his way through the small and crowded hallway. There were guys everywhere moving their personal items into their dorm rooms, and he kept having to say "Excuse me" as he stepped around them. Room 237 was his, along with whoever his roommate happened to be. John was dragging a large duffle bag behind himself and held one of his suits in a bag over his shoulder. He had carried them all the way across the campus, and was becoming a little uncomfortable. Gamma had insisted that he let Elliot carry them for him, but he didn't really want his butler along.  
  
He finally reached the room he was looking for, and turned the doorknob. Inside, the room was extremely small. It had only enough room for its two beds, two desks, and single closet. The bathroom was down the hall and was shared by everyone on the floor, and there was only one television in the dorm, down in the lobby.  
  
A young man with fiery red hair and freckles was lying on the bed when John walked in. He turned his head toward the door at the sound, smiled, and sprang to his feet. "Gram Kieran O'Neill," the boy offered his full name as he stuck out his hand.  
  
John shook hands with him. "Jonathan Truman Carter the third," he said, smiling. He noticed right away that Gram had a ring in his eyebrow, but he tried to ignore it. "I hope you're my roommate or I might have to call security."  
  
Gram laughed a little too boisterously. "That's some name you got there, Carter." He walked back to his bed and plopped down on it.  
  
Carter dragged his bag into the room and opened the closet. Gram had thrown his bag on his side of the closet, neglecting to hang anything up or put any clothing on the shelves. He had, however, unpacked a radio, which he now decided to turn on to some obnoxious loud rock. Ignoring it, Carter set to unpacking his clothes and hanging them up or shelving them. He started with his suit.  
  
Gram sat up on his bed and stared at his new roommate. "Dude, you brought a suit?"  
  
"I thought I might need it sometime," Carter said. "I only brought one," he added. He thought that might help.  
  
Cackling, Gram settled against the wall. "I've never even owned a suit. What are you, some kind of millionaire."  
  
"Something like that," Carter replied carefully as he finished putting his clothing away. He then turned toward Gram with a smile. He had decided a while ago that he was going to get to know something about whoever his roommate was, so he decided to start now. Clearing his throat he asked, "Hey, mind if I turn the music down for a minute?" Gram gave him a confused look. "I just wanted to chat for a while, get to know each other," he added.  
  
Gram shrugged. "Sure, sounds cool," he said nonchalantly.  
  
Carter decided on turning the music completely off instead. He sat down in his desk chair. He hadn't had time to put his sheets on his bed yet, and who would want to sit on that dirty mattress? Although it didn't seem to be bothering Gram too much; he hadn't put his sheets on yet either.  
  
"So, uh," Carter began. "You from Chicago."  
  
"Nah," Gram said, "So-Cal."  
  
"Huh?" Carter asked in confusion.  
  
Smiling, Gram clarified, "Southern California. Ever been there?"  
  
"Oh," Carter said. "Yeah, I have."  
  
"Yeah, but I bet you've never been anywhere with the real Californians."  
  
"Guess not," Carter said, though he hadn't really any idea what Gram meant. "Why did you come to Chicago?"  
  
"I didn't want to," Gram said frankly. "But I got a scholarship here, and so my parents made me come here."  
  
"What kind of scholarship?"  
  
"Basketball," Gram said. "You play any sports?"  
  
"Uh, not really," Carter said. He didn't think that horseback riding really counted, and he had quit baseball after only a year of playing as a Freshman. He wasn't that bad, but he'd decided sports just weren't for him. "So what are you studying?"  
  
Gram shrugged. "Dunno," he answered. "You?"  
  
"Pre-med," Carter said.  
  
"Figures," Gram said. "You one of those trust fund nerds, huh?"  
  
Carter tried not to get annoyed. "Well, you know." he trailed off.  
  
"Got any siblings? Especially sisters?" Gram added with a wink.  
  
"Yeah, I have an older sister named Nell."  
  
"Nice," Gram said with a grin.  
  
"She's in Europe now, though."  
  
Gram snapped his fingers in disappointment. "Ah, well, there are plenty of girls here anyway."  
  
Carter nodded because he couldn't think of anything to say in response to that. He hadn't really been giving much thought to relationships since he and Ebony had broken up, amicably. "So do you have any siblings?"  
  
"Yeah, older brother. Be glad you don't have one, Carter, because they are a pain."  
  
"Yeah," Carter said simply, trying to halt the twinge he felt rising in his stomach.  
  
Without warning, the door swung open and a tall, well-built student with a dark complexion and dark hair appeared. "Hey, Gram!" he said. "This your roommate?"  
  
"Yeah," Gram said. "Carter, this is Cory. He's on the basketball team. He's a junior."  
  
Carter shook hands with Cory, noticing how firm the giant's shake was. "Nice to meet you," Carter said with a smile.  
  
"Same. Hey, you guys want to head down to the bar. A bunch of guys are coming. Carter would get to know some people."  
  
"Sure!" Gram said. "What about it, Carter?"  
  
"Uh," Carter said. "I don't think I'll go right now."  
  
"I get it, you don't drink," Gram said with a roll of his eyes.  
  
"No, I do," Carter interjected quickly, though it wasn't really true. One swallow of champagne didn't really qualify, but how would they know the difference. "I just want to put my stuff away."  
  
Cory looked at Gram and shrugged. "Ok. Later, then."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Later," Carter assured.  
  
The two basketball players walked out and closed the door behind them. Carter sat there for a moment, looking around the crowded room. Then he slammed his hand down on Gram's radio and turned it off. "This should be interesting," he said with a sigh. 


	3. Chapter 3

Three weeks in, Carter was becoming bored with college life. His classes were mostly repetitive of high school; he was anxious to get into the real medical education. But for now he was spending most of his time reviewing what seemed like basic concepts of chemistry and biology, and re- reading books for literature which he become bored with after speeding through them in high school. His social life was turning out pretty uneventfully. Gram kept asking him to come along to some party or another, but Carter always had an excuse. Tonight he and Cory were going down to a club, and once again Gram was begging Carter to come with them.  
  
"Come on, what are you gonna do, man? Sit around here reading all night? I mean, you don't even have any good music to listen to!" Gram said as he changed from sandals to his tennis shoes.  
  
Carter stared intently at his copy of Things Fall Apart, trying to interest himself in the philosophy the book spouted. He was having trouble getting into it, though. Sighing, he looked over the book at his roommate. "Maybe some other time, Ok?"  
  
Gram shook his head and gave Carter a berating look. "Uh-uh, that's not working this time. It's always 'some other time' with you." He grabbed the book and tossed it across the room onto a desk. "Tonight," he said as a grin spread across his freckled face, "we party."  
  
*************************  
  
Carter trailed behind Gram and Cory as they lead the way into the club. Realizing you had to be 18 to get in, Carter reached for his wallet to show his ID. But the man at the door never asked for it, so Carter relaxed and replaced his wallet in his back pocket.  
  
Inside the air was slightly smoky and full of chattering voices and loud music. Carter tried not to stare too long at any of the various, slightly inebriated patrons sitting at the bar as he followed his companions down to a few open stools.  
  
"Three beers," Gram said casually to the bartender. Anticipating questions about their age, Carter tensed slightly. But once again, there were no questions asked. Carter briefly wondered if they knew what kind of legal trouble they would be in if someone reported them serving alcohol to minors. Cory and Gram took their beers and left the third on the bar. For a moment, Carter just stared at the bottle.  
  
"You thirsty or what?" Cory asked, giving Carter a daring glance.  
  
Smiling confidently, Carter grabbed the beer and held it aloft. "Cheers," he proposed.  
  
Gram looked at him for a second, then exchanged glances with Cory. The two basketball players laughed and shook their heads. With a lopsided grin, Gram clanked his bottle against Carter's then took a swig. "Cheers!" he shouted boisterously, spreading his arms in exaggerated congeniality.  
  
After a moment's hesitation, Carter gulped down his own beverage. The burning sensation in his throat caught him slightly off guard. He coughed a little, and the other young men laughed.  
  
They stood for a few minutes, sipping their drinks and looking around the club. Then Cory nudged Gram on the shoulder. "Hey, check out that brunette," he said, pointing towards a young, pretty woman swaying slightly, alone near the dancefloor. Setting his empty bottle on the bar, he gave a mischievous smile to his friends. "Wish me luck!" he said as he strode over confidently toward the girl. He immediately began talking to her in an animated fashion. Carter found himself looking on in envy.  
  
Noticing his roommate's expression, Gram laughed. "You're pathetic, man."  
  
"What?" Carter asked innocently, snapping his attention to his friend.  
  
Gram shook his head. "You need to find yourself a girl, man."  
  
"I don't know," Carter said, raising his voice a little above the din of a new, louder song. "I'm not really interested in a relationship right now."  
  
With a smirk, Gram asked, "Who said anything about a relationship?" He stayed grinning for a moment at Carter, who was staring back blankly, then shook his head. "Look, just have a good time! I'm going to go dance!" Before Carter had a chance to ask what he was supposed to do in the meantime, Gram had disappeared into the crowd.  
  
"Hey, buddy," a voice from behind him said. Carter turned to see the bartender staring at him expectantly. "You gonna pay for those three beers?"  
  
"Oh, um." Carter looked to the dancefloor, and saw Cory occupied with the giggling brunette. A look of frustration passed his face. "Yeah," he said, turning back to the bartender and getting out his wallet. "Those three and another one for me." He leafed through his substantial stack of bills, looking for a ten. The burly man next to him raised a curious eyebrow at him, and Carter smiled back, not really sure what was so amusing. The man shook his head and went back to his drink as Carter handed the bill over and took his second beer. He drank it as casually as possible and looked around the establishment.  
  
"Hey there," a sultry voice to his left said.  
  
Carter turned to see a busty woman in a red dress smiling wildly at him. His eyes widened a little as he managed to say. "Hello."  
  
"I haven't seen you here before. You must be new. I'm Lola," she said, offering her hand to him. It smelled of heavily applied perfume.  
  
He shook her hand lightly and replied, "Carter." He decided it sounded more interesting than 'John', and it was what everyone at school seemed to prefer anyway.  
  
"So Carter, you want to dance?" she said.  
  
Looking to the motley group of dancers, he frowned. The only kind of dancing he had ever done was ballroom, and that certainly wasn't going to help out in this case. And unfortunately, he was gifted with very little natural rhythm. "No thanks, I'd rather just relax, I think." He took a drink of his beer, trying to look confident but failing.  
  
Lola smiled a little, and turned back towards the bar. "That's fine." She twirled a finger slowly in her icy drink. "Relaxing is good for you. Just sitting back, taking everything in." Her eyes shot over to meet with Carter's, and he could see the spark in them. His mouth went a little dry, and he started to drink his beer again. While he was, she leaned over and whispered in his ear, "It's two-hundred for the night, if you wanted to know."  
  
Choking back his drink, his eyes widening in surprise, Carter sputtered, "W-what?"  
"Well it's pretty obvious," Lola said. "A guy like you down here with all that cash, just hanging around the bar. I know you're type perfectly." She looked at him seductively and moved a hand toward his shoulder.  
  
"Wait," Carter said, flinching away. "I think you have the wrong idea. I'm just down here with my friends... to hang out... just to hang out." He was gradually edging away from her.  
  
Lola's face fell a little bit. "Oh, I see. Well..." she trailed off. Looking at Carter once more, she saw how tense he seemed, and her face fell. "Uh-huh, see you around kid," she huffed as she turned and left.  
"Hey, Carter!" a loud voice behind him and a hand on his shoulder startled the already nervous Carter. He spun around a little too quickly to see Cory and the brunette standing behind him. "Having a good time yet?"  
  
"Sure," Carter said, forcing a grin. The brunette looked up at him with lazy eyes and smiled.  
"I was just going to tell you that Linda and I are going to go... someplace else," Cory said, inducing a giggle from the obviously drunk girl. "So I'll be taking my car. Just wanted to let you know. You and Gram can take a cab. See ya around!" he said with a wave as the girl dragged him toward the exit.  
  
"Another beer?" the bartender asked with a bemused look on his face.  
  
"Yes, please," Carter said with a sigh. He drank morosely for a while, occasionally glancing to the dance floor looking for Gram. Every once in a while he would see his red haired head above the crowd as he jumped almost spastically. And they call this dancing, Carter thought. Finally, Gram exited the group, sweating and out of breath.  
  
"What, you never danced?" he said through ragged breaths. He motioned to the bartender, who slid him another beer, which he began to drink down in gulps.  
  
"Didn't feel up to it," Carter said. An anxious look from the bartender, and he sighed, pulled out another bill, and handed it over. He barely noticed the gruff man who had been sitting next to him getting up and heading casually for the exit.  
  
"What did you do, then, man?"  
  
"I drank," Carter said almost proudly.  
  
Gram smiled and laughed. "Well at least we got you out of the dorm room. It's getting late, though. Where's Cory?"  
  
"He left with that girl Linda."  
  
"The brunette?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Great!" Gram exclaimed loudly. "Now we have to get a cab." He turned to the bartender. "Where's your phone?"  
  
"Out front."  
  
"Ok, well if you can manage to pull yourself away, Carter, do you think we can leave?"  
Carter answered with a nod, and the two young men headed for the entrance. It wasn't until he began moving that Carter noticed everything becoming a little bit blurry. He shook his head, and stumbled out the door behind Gram.  
  
Suddenly, a man sprang from the shadows and threw a punch which connected solidly with Carter's right jaw. His head snapped to the left, and he fell to the ground. The man, now towering over him, reached down and plucked his wallet from his back pocket. He took the money from within, tossed the wallet on the ground, then took off running. As Carter's vision cleared slightly, he recognized the departing thief as the man who had been sitting next to him at the bar. He groaned and wiped the blood from his lip.  
  
"Hey, man, you all right?" Gram said with concern as he looked down at Carter.  
  
"Yeah," Carter managed, moving his aching jaw around to stretch it out. "Shouldn't we call the police or something?"  
  
Gram looked at him for a moment, then laughed. "The police aren't going to care about something like this. They could care less about some drunk kid getting mugged." He offered a hand to Carter and pulled him up.  
  
Carter scowled. "I'm not drunk," he insisted, though he had trouble getting the words out clearly.  
"Sure," Gram said with a smile. "How much money did you have?"  
  
"I don't know," he replied with a shrug. "Couple hundred dollars."  
  
"A couple hundred?! Geez, with a roll like that, I would have mugged you myself. What the hell were you thinking, man?"  
  
"I dunno," Carter said, squeezing his eyes shut. "But could we go home before the spinning gets worse."  
  
"How many did you have?"  
  
"Three."  
  
Gram cackled in amusement and slapped his leg. "Three? Only three! This is the first time you've drank, isn't it?"  
  
"Well, technically," Carter said softly, opening his eyes slowly. He saw Gram shaking his head and laughing under his breath, and at first was a little chagrined. Then, he smiled and joined in his laughter.  
  
Gram slapped him on the back. "Come on man, let's call a cab and get you home before you pass out." 


End file.
